Machine for preparing dough for the manufacture of filled bakery goods



March 23, 1954 D. RICE C. MACHINE.FOR PREPARING DOUGH FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF' FILLED BAKERY GOODS Filed March 1, 1949 snetlshst 1 PII- IN V EN TOR.

March 23, 1954 c. D. RICE MACHINE FOR PREPARING DOUGH FOR THE MANUFACTURE 0F FILLED BAKERY GOODS Filed March l, v1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INI/EN TOR. Cuff/lr D Hice BY M224, v/zw AJM March 23, 1954 l c. D. RICE 2,672,829

MACHINE FOR PREPARING DOUGH FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF' FILLED BAKERY GOODS Filed March l, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 4 w Q m D Q0 N)\` l s Y y "x Q N w a;

r() Q n l() WQ L\\ w u r D@ l Y 1-1 la G El" x "-4 PH f1 INVENTOR. (D, (Sar/lf [2 @fcc my M A TrQ/E'NEYS Patented Mar. 23, 1954 UNITED STATES 'i' GFFICE MACHINE FOR PREPARING DOUGH FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF FILLED BAKERY GOODS 4 Claims.

This invention relates to a machine for preparing dough for the manufacture of iilled bakery goods.

It is a primary object ci the invention to save the hand labor heretofore required 'for stretching dough and flattening it. Various doughs require different lengths of stretching. Consequently, it is a more specic object oi the invention to provide means whereby the worker will know exactly the extent to which the dough should be stretched in its initial application on the machine, the machine automatically controlling the stretch of the dough thereafter.

it is the further object of the invention to provide for the spreading of the dough in the form of a wide ribbon, while preventing it from balling up at the point where it enters the bight of the spreading rolls.

Dough has considerable resilience, and if engaged by rolls on fixed centers, it tends to form i a ball. By incorporating a yielding movement between the parts required in the initial spreading of the dough, and by thereafter subjecting the dough to tension in conjunction with further levelling action, it is possible to eliminate the hailing-up and still. produce a ribbon of substantially uniform width and thickness.

This application is a companion to my eopending applications Serial No. 78,946, now Patent No. 2,629,341, and Serial No. 78,948, now Patent N o. 2,619,051, nled oi even date herewith.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a View of the device in longitudinal section.

On a suitable frame 5, supported by legs t, I

mount pulleys or guides l, 3 and e for a conveyor belt l0. As clearly shown in Fig. 2, the conveyor is calibrated with any suitable number of graduations li.

Mounted in bearing blocks it for vertical adjustment in ways it is a shait ifi supporting a roll I5 which is offset rearwardly from the shaft l5 on which roll l is mounted. The bearing blocks ift are positioned by screws Il engaged in nuts it and anchored by collars lil and Ml against axial replacement respecting a bridge 2l at the top i of each of the ways it. The screws are adjusted in unison by means of any suitable crank 22 applied to the squared end of a cross shaft 23 which has bevelled pinions 2t meshing with bevel.

gears 25 at the top ends of the respective screws. f

lil

Any other adjustment would suihce. For indicating, for reference purposes, the particular position of the roll iii, I prefer to supply the cross shaft 23 with a dial Zt cooperating with a xed pointer at 2l.

lreierably carried at an oblique angle below the main frame 5 is a sub-frame 2&3 providing ways at at each side of the machine. Bearing blocks xed in the ways 2S, support the shaft Si ior roils .Also supported by ways 29 are the adjustable bearing blocks 33 for the shaft oi roll 35. The adjustable bearing blocks are adjusted and positioned in the same manner as the blocks iii above described, each of the blocks 33 having a nut .tt engaged by a screw 3'! which is xed respecting the bridge member 3S. The respective screws 3l are provided with. gears 39 with which mesh the pinions lil on the adjusting shaft ci which has a squared end at #l2 to receive the crank 22 and is desirably provided with an indicator dial at 43 with which the pointer lili cooperates to show, for purposes of reference, the specinc position of the adjustable sha-it 34 and the roll 35 carried thereby. l

Beneath the rolls 32 and 35 is a conveyor belt t5 which passes about the lower pulley 4t on shaft lll and thence has an upwardly inclined run d3 leading to the upper pulley 49. From a horizontal run indicated, but not shown in full, :in Fig. 3, the belt returns to pulley it over an idler at 5t.

The entire apparatus may conveniently be driven from a motor 5I which, by means of belt iii, drives a jack shaft 53. This shaft is provided with a driving sprocket at 54 for a chain 55. The chain passes downwardly to a sprocket 5t on shaft lll to operate the belt llt, and thence passes upwardly and about a sprocket 5l on shaft 3l to operate roller 3E, and thence about a sprocket on shaft t to operate roller 35, and thence about a sprocket tit on shaft lil to operate roller it, and thence about a sprocket il@ on. shaft it to operate a pulley l. From sprocket 59 the chain returns to the driving sprocket 5t.

As indicated by the breaks in the various views of the machine, the table 5 and the assembly belt it may be of any suitable length. The conveyor iii serves as a table upon which the various lengths or ropes of dough are stretched and assembled.

rihe attendant first taires a given mass of dough which, for example, may weigh ten and threefourths pounds, and may be about eight inches in diameter, and twenty-six inches long, as received by him. He catches a portion of this dough between the roller i5 and belt at a time when one of the gauge marks H is just passing beneath the roller. With one end of the dough thus anchored, he pulls on the other end until he stretches the dough into a rope about eighty-six inches in length, this ligure being given by way of example. The selected length is desirably indicated by another gauge mark l i on the belt. Thus, the stretching may be done-While thebelt is-in continuous operation.- Thereafter, he will stretch his next successive piece of dough by slightly lapping it upon the rope of dough previously stretched,A this being clearly indicatedin Fig. 2, Where the end 6l of the dough rope 62 laps theend 83 ofi-the.

next preceding dough rope 64, the trailing end 65 of dough rope 62 being lapped by the leading end `66 of dough rope 6l. In each instance, the-adhesion of the dough to the previousropefand to the conveyor is suilcient to permit each successive rope to be stretched to a length indicatedvby the respective marker I l on the belt. Where the operations of the bakery require the use of different types-of dough, requiring adifferentlength of stretch, .the belt may bear several series of-calibrations so that thereis one set of calibrationsfor each type of dough, this being indicatedby the calibrations t8 in Fig.;2.

If 'the roll l were directly beneath the roll l5, to require the dough topassbetween fixed centers, the dough, instead of being flattened, would be caused to form a ball at the point of entering between the rolls. Since the rolls are offset, there is .-rst a yielding pressure applied toward roll l5 by the belt l as clearly shown in` Fig.` 3after which final pressure isapplied where the belt and the'dough passestogether between rolls I5 and l. The belt is supported upon a tablesurface 16 throughout most of the length offrame 5, but the table'surface terminates -at `'H `topermit the belt to'pass circumferentially for at least aifew' degrees of peripheralmovement around theroll 5. The'recpiiredl tension of the belt is maintained by a tightener l2 l).

Although the rolls 32 and 35 are fairly comparable in size to roll-l5, their respective driving sprockets 5l and '56 are slightly smaller .in diameter than the sprocket 5S, in relation to therespective diameters'of the rolls. As a result; the peripheral speed of rolls 32, t5 is slightly greater than l.thel rate of .lineal travel of the belt i6 from which 'the compressed ribbon 'I5 is delivered from the belt as the belt passes about the=pulley 7., In consequence, the ribbon of dough at l5 isV constantly attenuated or stretched by-fthe rolls 32 'and 35, which leave the ribbon ofv approximate'- ly uniform width and uniform thicknessaas itis discharged onto the belt 45.

While subsequent operations on the doughV have no `directxrelationto the present invention,it may benoted that on the belt G5, the dough is provided with a strip of lling'and is subsequentlycut into lengths and folded over the filling for baking.

ln consequence ofthe present invention, the baked product has great uniformity, being assured of uniform consistency, texture, thickness, and Width, without requiring the technical skill or manual labor heretofore necessary. Assuming the original eighty-six inch length of the rope, as in the example above stated, the machine stretchesand fiattens the rope to have a total length of about one hundred and twelve inches, and a width of eight inches, and a thickness of three-sixteenths of an inch.

I claim:

1. In a dough-preparing niachinefth'e combi'- nation with a conveyor and supporting guides including a conveyor tensioning means, said conveyor having between said guides an upwardly exposed run constituting a movable assembly table, a support for an intermediate portion of said conveyor run, the support terminating short of a guide toward which the conveyor run moves during vconveyor operation, means for actuating thefconveyor, and a compression roll; coacting with the conveyor and disposed above the conveyor and between the support and the guide last mentionedawithits periphery at least as low as saidlastmentioned guide to act on dough carried by theconveyor run aforesaid at the point where such run is unsupported between the said support and the conveyor guide toward which said run operates.

2. The device of claim l in which the conveyor is provided with indicia for indicating the extent to which an operator should stretch ropes of doughA in applying them to the conveyor.r

3: Thedeviceof claim 1 in which the level of the support and guide is such respecting said roll that with :dough on'the conveyorsaid conveyor passes angularly about saidroll before passing about the4 guide vtoward `which said run operates, the conveyorbeing resiliently yieldablefrom said roll in: passing thereaboutand having aXed spacing from .said roll inpassing about the conveyor guide toward which said run'operates.

4.; A dough-preparing machine comprising the combination With amachine frame provided with pulleys, off aconveyorbelt operating over the pulleysfand having a` dough-receiving portion, means foradjusting one of the; pulleys for-the tightening-of the belt, a roller provided with suitable.` bearingssupporting it abovethepath of travel of said belt and adjacent one of the pulleys andl voiset therefrom, the belt and interposed dough passing angularly about the roller en route towthe pulley 'lastvmentioned means for adjustingy the bearingsy for varyingl the position of the rollerrespecting the belt, andmeans` spaced from thepulleylast mentioned for supportingthe belt en route'to the roller, together with means for driving the -belt in a direction to advance a run thereof oversaidsupporting means and beneath the roller-and about the pulley vlast mentioned, the-ebeltbeing unsupported between the supportingxmeans and the last mentioned pulley and having -adough-receiving portion.'

CURTIS D. RICE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED`STATES PATENTS Number Name Date R`e.22,835' Foard Jan. 1947 266,127 Franciscus Oct. 17,1882 347,790' Gent Aug. 24, 1886 402,396 Bryce et al. Apr. 30, 1889 '777;349 Mitchell Dec. 13, 1904 829,270 Harton Aug. 21, 1906 1,026,755 Lundin. May 21, 1912 1,134,970' Lawrence Apr. 6, 1915 1,945,755 Scruggs, Jr. Feb. 6, 193e 2,289,388 Stiles July 14, 1942 2,321,134 Fleisher et al June 8, 1943 2,357,085 Cohen et al Aug. 29, 1944 2,402,420 Lesage June 18, 1946 2,431,074 Palmer Nov. 18, 1947 2,521,982 Kors Sept. 12, 1950 Number-v Country Date f 440,"699l4 Germany Feb. 14,-1927 

